Good Bye Summer

Dear Summer,

Thank you for letting me sleep in every single day, if I wanted to. Thank you for giving me lots of sunshine to get tan at the pool. And most of all...thank you for Snow Cones. However, please let our snow cone stand get more sugar free flavors by next year.

Love,

Kelly

Well today was my official last day of summer so Chris and I celebrated all day. This morning we bought a mini fridge off Craigslist and took it to my classroom. Then, this afternoon we went to the pool for one last "hurrah". And then this evening we went to Jack Stack BBQ for an amazing dinner. We had smoked chicken topped with brisket. It was delicious. Not to mention the cheesy cornbake and baked beans. For dessert Chris ate some bread pudding...one of his favorites!

Show Us Your Life- Wedding Dress Edition

Ok, so this is my first time participating in Kelly's Korner "Show us where you live..." and I'm super excited! This Friday is all about your wedding dress and I absolutely loved mine! The day I found my dress was actually the first day I really looked at dresses. I had been looking online and thought I knew what I wanted but sure enough when I tried that style on...it looked awful!

We went to Terry Costa in Dallas and it was so fun because all my bridesmaids, my mom, and my sister were even there. I just remember the ladies kept bringing me dress after dress until we found "the one".

Trying on all the dresses...

I LOVE this picture...

The dress I ended up with was off white, strapless, with a slight sweetheart neckline. It "poofed" out a little at the bottom and had really beautiful detailing all throughout the dress even down to the train.

On my wedding day...putting on my shoes...

I really loved all the details in my dress, like the little broach on the empire waist. I wore the same veil that my mom wore on her wedding day which was also really special : )

And this is one of my favorite pictures from that day. I love the camera angel and how it really shows off the train of my dress.

And also like Kelly, I love TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress" and when I watch it I think about if I had to pick a different dress I would pick one like this:

Baked Potato Dip

I made this dip last night for a little get together we had and it was SO good!! I could have eaten the entire thing on my own...but don't worry, I didn't!

1 8oz sour cream
1 8oz whipped cream cheese
1 pkg Cheddar Cheese
1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix
1 pkg real bacon pieces
(Chives are optional...I don't care for them, so I didn't use them!)

Ok, so this is literally the easiest dip ever. All you do is mix all those ingredients together, put them in an 8x8 and bake at 300 for about 45 minutes. Just until all the cheeses are melted together. Serve with wheat thins! (or triscuits, or chips...anything you want!)

*Another way I saw this dip served was in a bread bowl. If you make it in a bread bowl you have to bake it at 300 for about 2 hours.

Take this to your next party...everyone will LOVE it!

Spontaneous Sunday

So yesterday afternoon I finished up my weekly phone conversation with my family and when I hung up Chris said, "Ok, you have 15 minutes to get ready..."

Our surprise trip landed us at a cute park in downtown Overland Park where we listened to the "Dixie Doodlers". It was so fun! I think we might have been one of ten families that were not in their umm...70's...but thats ok! We had a really great time and got to listen to some fun music. It was truly one of those perfect summer nights.

Lawn chairs, live music, snacks...what else do you need?

exhibit A:

Paint by Numbers...

4...the number of miles I ran this morning.

12...the TOTAL number of miles run this week.

2...the number of weeks completed of my half-marathon training.

2...the number of cool metal art things I found at Hobby Lobby to hang above our couch.

I am really trying to go for "shabby shic" and I think these go perfectly! Its so simple too...I just love it!

2...the number of these drinks I consume each day! I try to drink only one but they are SO good. Diet Green Tea with Citrus from Costco. If you get the Costco coupons there was a $2 off one in there for this week! They come in a pack of about 30...well worth it! I think with the coupon they were $8 total.

And lastly....79. As in 79 degrees. As in the HIGH temperature for Kansas City today. Currently we have our doors and windows open enjoying the breeze! Yesterday Chris and I walked to the Starbucks close to our house and we actually got a little chilly sitting outside with our drinks! Its the middle of July but feels like October. Completely insane.

Well, I'm off to layout by the pool...and not sweat. I know. Its crazy.

Fish Tacos!

I decided to try something new for dinner tonight and I am glad I did! It was easy and delicious!

I bought some frozen Tilapia from walmart, marinated it in a ziploc with some lemon and lime juice. I just used enough to cover the fish, it wasn't swimming in it. (Pun intended : ) Marinate for 15-30 minutes then pat dry. Then I heated my pan with some EVOO, put the fish in some flour (to give it a crispy edge) then cook it up! It should have a golden brown outside and be white on the inside!

We put ours in some flour tortillas with avacado, tomato, cheese, sour cream and some salsa! Just anything you would put on a taco! I served it with some pasta salad and it was yummy!

Enjoy!

Seeing Red, White, and Blue

Well for the past week we've been in Arlington celebrating the Fourth of July with our families! We drove in on Sunday and left a week later on Sunday again. Sandwiched in the middle were lots of fun activities!!

I should say that the Fourth of July is my absolute favorite holiday. Yes, even more than Chrismas. I just love everything about it. The music, the fireworks, the food and most of all the family. I have such fond memories of going to the parade with my Dad as a little girl and even shooting fireworks in our backyard. The Fourth of July is also right around the time Chris and I started dating so its a really special time for us as well.

So each year we have tried our best to make it home to be with our families on this great holiday. (The first year we lived in KC we didn't come home and it was honestly one of the hardest things...so we don't make that mistake anymore)

I'm pretty sure that there are angels in heaven who rejoice when you cross the Texas state line...

Things we did consisted of 1. Eating 2. Shopping 3. Lots of Fourth of July festivities and 4. More eating.

When we come home we always like to eat at the places that we don't have here in Kansas so we ate at Spring Creek, Kitchen de Branigan, and Braums. (Confession: we may have eaten at Braums more than once...or twice. Who can resist a twist in a waffle cone?!)

We also go to do A LOT of fun things with our families...

We practiced making balloon animals...

We went to a Rangers Game

We sang "Deep in the Heart of Texas" at the top of our lungs...

We went to the Concert in the Garden, always a family favorite : )



We watched the best fireworks in town (at the Concert in the Garden)

We went to the Arlington Fourth of July parade. One of, or the biggest, Fourth of July parades in the nation! They aren't lyin that everythings bigger in Texas!

We danced when the Colt Drum Line came by playing their infamous song. Kick'em Colts!

And on Sunday we got to see Taylor, my little brother, get baptized!

My Dad got to baptize him which was really special.

And then we loaded up our truck, like the Clampetts, and were off to Beverly...err, I mean Kansas.

We had to bring back some furniture to go in our new apartment.

We really had a fabulous time with our families and were sad to say good bye (It just really doesn't get easier...) but will be glad to be saying hello again in just 3 weeks! Special thanks to Liz for getting married then!!